Gani’s final hours: 8 years after colossus’ death (1)

Nigeria’s leading light on justice, equity and fair play, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi (SAN), has finally succumbed to cancer of the lungs.

The famous legal icon passed on in the early hours of Saturday, September 5, 2009, at the age of 71. A family source told ENCOMIUM Weekly that the Senior Advocate of the Masses (an award given to him by the students of Obafemi Awolowo University for his dogged and unrelenting fight for the poor and the less privileged) passed on after a brave battle.

The A-list practitioner, we gathered, died on his sick bed at Lister Medical Centre, Ikeja, Lagos. His remains have since been deposited at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital morgue.

Gani fought with cancer of the lungs for two and a half years. And in the process, he was taken all over the place in search of cure to no avail.

ENCOMIUM Weekly’s visit to the late legal luminary and foremost activist’s home on Ademola Close, off Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, showed that truly, the nation has lost a rare gem.

High profile Nigerians who thronged the residence to sympathise with the family is a testimony that he was a thousand kilometers ahead of his peers.

Information gathered has it that as early as 8:30 am on the said day, respected Nigerians had started crowding the lawyer’s sprawling compound to pay their tribute and equally commiserate with his wives, children and family members.

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